Category Archives: Halloween

Yes, I realize it’s only a few days after Halloween… but I’m already sick to death of fighting about candy.

I can no longer fight with myself OR the kids and their incessant requests for “One more piece”. Let’s not even mention finding hidden empty wrappers in their rooms (or mine?).

Perhaps I’m jumping the gun a tad, but when it comes to Halloween candy: I’m OVER it.

I just can’t bring myself to throw it away though… after all, it is chocolate.

If you’re in the same boat, don’t fret. There’s hope yet. You can make Leftover Halloween Candy Brownies!

A pan of these chocolate fudgy treats will bring anyone to their knees! Want to know how to make your own?

You’ll need:

1 box of brownie mix (any brand will do)

A rather large pile of any and all chocolate related Halloween candy that you can steal away from the kids – chopped into smallish sized pieces

A large cookie sheet or foil

A treadmill for after you eat the entire pan… Kidding!

How to:

Assemble and bake the brownie mix according to the package. When the brownies are finished baking, pull them out of the oven and immediately distribute all of the chopped up candy bars, etc. on top of them. Once the candy is on, quickly put the cookie sheet over the top of the pan to seal in the heat from the just baked brownies. If you do not have a cookie sheet, use a double layer of foil and seal tightly. Do NOT put the pan back into the oven. Turn the oven off. I repeat, turn. it. off.

Let the brownies sit on the counter covered for at least 15-20 minutes until the candy has completely melted. Take the cookie sheet/foil off the pan and with a knife, gently swirl the melted gooey goodness all over the brownies to create a sort of candy “icing”.

You are then left with two choices: Let them cool like a wuss… or devour them in their pure and perfect warmness state. I vote for the latter!

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If you’re anything like me, you’ve been procrastinating with the kids costumes all month. And like all good procrastinators know, it usually hits you like a ton of bricks that you have less than 48 hours to come up with, or buy, something. I’ve been guilty of running around the night before and spending a small fortune on costumes and accessories. This year, with 3 kids who are requesting more and more technology-type gifts from Santa, I think I’ll be saving my money for Christmas.

Luckily, my girls are still young and very much into the princess stage which means I can get away with simpler style costumes. I’ve learned that as long as it’s puffy, shiny and has some sort of pink or purple color, it’s deemed “princess”.

This year both of my princesses have requested mermaid costumes after their idol, Ariel the Little Mermaid. As adorable an idea as that is, I just couldn’t picture them scooting from house to house in stretchy, leg-restricting fins. I can hear “CARRY ME” and “I CAN’T WALK ANYMORE” coming out of their sweet little mouths already.

So I went on the hunt and stumbled upon these beautiful, and more importantly no-sew, super easy tutus by Go Photography that could be used for all sorts of costume ideas. If you can do a simple knot, you can absolutely make these in no time flat. I will be whipping up some purple, white and green ones for my girls (with some sparkly ribbon thrown in for good measure) to be the “fins” of our mermaid costumes.

I also purchased some inexpensive training bras from Walmart and will be hot gluing shells from the Dollar Store to them for that “Under the Sea” affect. You could also add some small fabric flowers if you are feeling extra crafty!

Like this:

Since it is usually chilly while trick-or-treating on Halloween night, throw a lighter colored long sleeved cotton shirt underneath and put a pair of thick tights or leggings on and Voila! You now have a bonafide (and still thankfully warm) mermaid!

This super easy tutu mermaid costume will not only turn heads, but you can revel in the fact that you can say with all honesty that you made it yourself! And if your kids are like mine, they will wear it for weeks afterward too!

Happy costuming!

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When you put a group of 15 Kindergartners into a small room with sugar-laden everything, allow them to use real live pumpkins as bowling balls, and supply them with enough glue to seal their mouths shut (don’t I wish!) – the idea of simplicity sorta gets thrown out the window.

Since I’m the Room Parent for our class, I’ve been picking apart every activity, snack and craft we have planned to ensure that the kids don’t get bored and do what 5 year olds do best, run wild.

You know, like this…

I think the Pumpkin Bowling and other crafts will take care of themselves, but I was clueless about snack. All I can envision are these 5 year olds sitting around eating chocolate chip cookies, pretzels and clementine pumpkins, practically falling out of their seats with ants in their pants because they just want to get to the fun stuff!

So I had an idea.

Why not make the snack interactive? Why not let them decorate the cookies themselves? And it couldn’t just be your everyday run-of-the-mill sprinkles. No siree bob. They needed to be spooky and gross and make the kids giggle. Most importantly? They needed to be the perfect distraction from the bowling bombs, ahem…balls.

And so I came up with this…

These are my labels for the cookie “toppings”. I think they turned out rather cute!

Witch’s Warts = chocolate chips

Ghost Poop = mini marshmallows

Jack o’ Lantern teeth = candy corn

Frankenstein’s blisters = M&M’s

Dead Man’s Worms = gummy worms

Monster Slime = green icing to make the toppings stick

Not exactly genius, but at least it might buy us another 3 or 4 minutes of distraction from the kiddos. And no one can deny that when it comes to Kindergartners, you really can’t go wrong with “poop”.

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What better way to celebrate a Halloween classroom party than with fun and creepy crafts and treats? Especially when the kids get to dive in alongside their classmates and make them themselves. I’m using several of these ideas for my own kindergartner and 3rd grader, but they should be appropriate for any elementary stage or skill level. So in honor of this super spooky holiday, here are a few Halloween craft and treat ideas to get the ball rolling for your own ghoulish classroom party!

Spider Pops

Halloween just wouldn’t be the same without a few creepy-crawlies lurking about. These Spider Pops by Spoonful are easy enough for even the youngest of kids to make, are budget friendly and most importantly, YUMMY!

Graveyard Pudding Cups

These super cute Graveyard Pudding Cups by Party Pinching will be a hit with the kids, no matter what age! You can make these before the party or have the students assemble them. With this kind of cuteness, either way they won’t last long!

Scary Popcorn Hand

Doesn’t this Scary Popcorn Hand by Top Party Ideas look good enough to eat? Lucky for you, it is! Have the kids assemble this “hand” with just a few ingredients. You could even substitute the popcorn for some other tasty snack like cheerios or goldfish crackers.

Banana Ghosts and Clementine Pumpkins

In our neck of the woods, the school rule is that at least one classroom party treat must be healthy. Never fear though, healthy doesn’t have to mean boring or bland. The Banana Ghosts and Clementine Pumpkins by One Little Project pictured here are nutritious and delicious. Hey, no one has to know that we slipped a few chocolate chips in!

Mandarin Orange Cups

If peeling clementines or bananas (see above) isn’t your cup of tea, here’s another idea: Mandarin Orange Cups by Simple Girl. You honestly can’t get any simpler than this! All it takes is a box of mandarin orange cups, a few sharpie markers (probably best for the older kids if using themselves) and then “carve” out any face you desire. These are also wonderful treats to send in your child’s lunch!

Halloween Paper Plate Ghosts

Alright, so these ghosts may be a tad more cute than spooky, but they are still so much fun to make! Halloween Paper Plate Ghosts found on Examiner.com are great for the younger crowd who just want to glue, glue, glue! The best part is, you might even have most of the materials already. Parents and students alike will love hanging these around their house for decoration.

And for the grand finale… I give you: Pumpkin Bowling

The moment I saw this bowling game, I KNEW I had to incorporate it into our classroom party. I mean, who in their right mind wouldn’t want to play Pumpkin Bowling? Well, besides the teachers who may be a little unsure of turning their classrooms into bowling alleys. This version by Chocolate Cake Moments looks like a blast. You can also get creative and use other items for “pins” like stacked cups, cans, empty 2 liter bottles or paper towel rolls. Decorate them however you want, line them up and let the students have at it! A tip: you may want to put down an old tablecloth or other covering for the “lane” in the event of any pumpkin “catastrophes”. I can’t think of a better way to end a party with a bang than this!

I hope these tips and ideas for Halloween crafts and treats for the classroom will help you with your party planning process. The students will truly appreciate anything that you do. And if all else fails, throw in a bit of candy, a cool costume parade or some spooky background music and you’ll have it made!

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So you’ve trekked to the patch, spent countless hours painstakingly sifting through every shape, size and color, and finally found the perfect pumpkin… Now what? Well, if you’re anything like me, the thought of carving scary faces into all of those massively tough-skinned gourds is enough to send you over the edge. Particularly if your little ones want to get in on the action. Nothing can kill your nerves quite like watching your 8 year old plunging a knife into his jack-o-lantern and narrowly missing a hand or finger. Trust me, I know this from experience. Or even worse, watching the kids hightail it out of the room out of frustration because they can’t carve it themselves (also known from personal experience).

In an effort to protect our sanity, and to keep everyone involved and happy with the whole pumpkin process, here are some no-carve pumpkin decorating ideas for you and your kids. If you’re like me and not too crazy about the idea of handing a sharp metal blade over to your offspring, here are a few alternative ways that you can decorate your pumpkin this Halloween without involving any weapons…

Duct Tape Pumpkin – Duct tape is all the rage these days and comes in a gazillion different colors. You can even find it in some dollar stores! Check out this duct tape pumpkin at Wholesome Mommy for a tutorial on how to get started. Easy-peasy!

Glitter Pumpkin – Another easy idea! I love how simple this glitter pumpkin project by Kiwi Crate is and yet it allows the kids to use their imagination and creativity. The possibilities are endless!

Photo courtesy of Kiwi Crate

And finally, if you’re feeling really overzealous and need a good use for the overabundance of pumpkins you somehow managed to cart home…

Caterpillar Pumpkins – This is probably one of the cutest ideas I’ve ever seen when it comes to pumpkin decorating. A caterpillar pumpkin found on the Better Homes and Gardens website may be just the ticket to getting the whole family involved. You could stick with a theme or let everyone choose their own colors and decorations and make the final product a big surprise!

In the end, it doesn’t really matter what style you choose. Just have fun spending time with the kids, getting a little messy and finding happiness in the fact that no potential carving injuries were to be had by anyone this Halloween season!